¹“Are you acquainted with the way[#tn The text uses the infinitive as the object: “do you know the giving birth of?”]

the mountain goats give birth?

Do you watch as the wild deer give birth to their young?

²Do you count the months they must fulfill,

and do you know the time they give birth?

³They crouch, they bear their young,[#tc The Hebrew verb used here means “to cleave,” and this would not have the object “their young.” Olshausen and others after him change the ח (khet) to ט (tet) and get a verb “to drop,” meaning “drop [= give birth to] young” as used in Job 21:10. G. R. Driver holds out for the MT, arguing it is an idiom, “to breach the womb” (“Problems in the Hebrew text of Job,” VTSup 3 [1955]: 92-93).]

they bring forth the offspring they have carried.

⁴Their young grow strong, and grow up in the open;[#tn The idea is that of the open countryside. The Aramaism is found only here.]

they go off, and do not return to them.

⁵Who let the wild donkey go free?

Who released the bonds of the donkey,

⁶to whom I appointed the steppe for its home,

the salt wastes as its dwelling place?

⁷It scorns the tumult in the town;

it does not hear the shouts of a driver.

⁸It ranges the hills as its pasture,

and searches after every green plant.

⁹Is the wild ox willing to be your servant?

Will it spend the night at your feeding trough?

¹⁰Can you bind the wild ox to a furrow with its rope,[#tn Some commentators think that the addition of the “wild ox” here is a copyist’s error, making the stich too long. They therefore delete it. Also, binding an animal to the furrow with ropes is unusual. So with a slight emendation Kissane came up with “Will you bind him with a halter of cord?” While the MT is unusual, the sense is understandable, and no changes, even slight ones, are absolutely necessary.]

will it till the valleys, following after you?

¹¹Will you rely on it because its strength is great?

Will you commit your labor to it?

¹²Can you count on it to bring in your grain,[#tn The word is normally translated “believe” in the Bible. The idea is that of considering something dependable and acting on it. The idea of reliability is found also in the Niphal stem usages.; #tc There is a textual problem here: יָשׁוּב (yashuv) is the Kethib, meaning “[that] he will return”; יָשִׁיב (yashiv) is the Qere, meaning “that he will bring in.” This is the preferred reading, since the object follows it. For commentators who think the line too unbalanced for this, the object is moved to the second colon, and the reading “returns” is taken for the first. But the MT is perfectly clear as it stands.; #tn Heb “your seed”; this must be interpreted figuratively for what the seed produces.]

and gather the grain to your threshing floor?

¹³“The wings of the ostrich flap with joy,[#tc This whole section on the ostrich is not included in the LXX. Many feel it is an interpolation and should therefore be deleted. The pattern of the chapter changes from the questions being asked to observations being made.; #tn The word occurs only here and means “shrill cries.” If the MT is correct, this is a poetic name for the ostrich (see Lam 4:3).; #tn Many proposals have been made here. The MT has a verb, “exult.” Strahan had “flap joyously,” a rendering followed by the NIV. The RSV uses “wave proudly.”]

but are they the pinions and plumage of a stork?

¹⁴For she leaves her eggs on the ground,[#tn The meaning may have the connotation of “lays; places,” rather than simply abandoning (see M. Dahood, “The Root ’zb II in Job,” JBL 78 [1959]: 307f.).]

and lets them be warmed on the soil.

¹⁵She forgets that a foot might crush them,

or that a wild animal might trample them.

¹⁶She is harsh with her young,[#sn This verb, “to deal harshly; to harden; to treat cruelly,” is used for hardening the heart elsewhere (see Isa 63:17).]

as if they were not hers;

she is unconcerned

about the uselessness of her labor.

¹⁷For God deprived her of wisdom,

and did not impart understanding to her.

¹⁸But as soon as she springs up,[#tn The colon poses a slight problem here. The literal meaning of the Hebrew verb translated “springs up” (i.e., “lifts herself on high”) might suggest flight. But some of the proposals involve a reading about readying herself to run.]

she laughs at the horse and its rider.

¹⁹“Do you give the horse its strength?

Do you clothe its neck with a mane?

²⁰Do you make it leap like a locust?[#sn The same ideas are found in Joel 2:4. The leaping motion is compared to the galloping of the horse.]

Its proud neighing is terrifying!

²¹It paws the ground in the valley,[#tc The Hebrew text has a plural verb, “they paw.” For consistency and for stylistic reasons this is translated as a singular.; #tn The armies would prepare for battles that were usually fought in the valleys, and so the horse was ready to charge. But in Ugaritic the word `mk means “force” as well as “valley.” The idea of “force” would fit the parallelism here well (see M. Dahood, “Value of Ugaritic for textual criticism,” Bib 40 [1959]: 166).]

exulting mightily,

it goes out to meet the weapons.

²²It laughs at fear and is not dismayed;

it does not shy away from the sword.

²³On it the quiver rattles;

the lance and javelin flash.

²⁴In excitement and impatience it consumes the ground;[#tn “Swallow the ground” is a metaphor for the horse’s running. Gray renders the line: “quivering and excited he dashes into the fray.”]

it cannot stand still when the trumpet is blown.

²⁵At the sound of the trumpet, it says, ‘Aha!’

And from a distance it catches the scent of battle,

the thunderous shouting of commanders,

and the battle cries.

²⁶“Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars,[#tn This word occurs only here. It is connected to “pinions” in v. 13. Dhorme suggests “clad with feathers,” but the line suggests more the use of the wings.]

and spreads its wings toward the south?

²⁷Is it at your command that the eagle soars,[#tn Heb “your mouth.”]

and builds its nest on high?

²⁸It lives on a rock and spends the night there,

on a rocky crag and a fortress.

²⁹From there it spots its prey,[#tn The word means “search,” but can be used for a wide range of matters, including spying.; #tn Heb “food.”]

its eyes gaze intently from a distance.

³⁰And its young ones devour the blood,

and where the dead carcasses are,

there it is.”